Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)

A federal law enacted in 1976 that established a regulatory system to track hazardous wastes from the point of generation to disposal. It is commonly referred to as the cradle to grave process for hazardous waste (spent oil, cleaning agents, pesticides, etc.). The law requires the use of safe and secure procedures in treating, transporting, storing, and disposing of hazardous wastes. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) is authorized by the US Environmental Protection Agency to implement RCRA.

Why do we need RCRA?

Prior to the RCRA program hazardous waste was not regulated by the SCDHEC. Under RCRA is a set of state/federal regulations to control how hazardous waste is managed. To meet the regulatory requirements, facilities submit applications for a RCRA Hazardous Waste Management Permit. The Permit outlines the requirements for proper management of generated hazardous waste and sets up a corrective action program to manage and clean-up past contamination.

What does a RCRA permit do?

Treatment- use processes to alter the character or composition of waste

Storage- temporarily hold waste until they are treated or disposed of

Disposal- permanently contain waste

Tracks the clean up of past contamination through the Corrective Action process:

Investigation

Clean-up

Long Term Monitoring

What is the RCRA Corrective Action Process ?

Establishes a framework for facilities (Commercial, DoD, etc.) to investigate and clean-up hazardous waste contamination. The facilities are required to clean up all affected media (soil, groundwater, surface water, and air). The SCDHEC oversees all stages of the process.

RCRA Public Participation

The goal of the Public Participation requirements in RCRA is to involve the public early and often in the permitting process. This allows the public multiple opportunities to learn about the facility operations and to provide their input both to the SCDHEC and the facility. There are two types of public meetings held as part of the public participation process:

Facility led

SCDHEC led.

Facility led meetings

The RCRA regulations require the facility to hold a public meeting when:

They submit an application for a permit at a new facility

They submit a request to modify their current permit.

The Department is present at these meetings to help answer questions from the public and to hear public input prior to making a decision to issue a Permit.